12.10.2010

With early failures forcing me to reshuffle my Cookie list, I turned to my trusted cookbook for all things cookies, Martha Stewart’s Cookies. I’ve poured through this book time and time again, marking pages I want to try and just drooling over the pictures. But in the nearly 3 years I’ve had the book, there was one cookie I had yet to try. One cookie that continuously stared me in the face, begging me to make them. That one perfectly gooey, beautiful cookie on the front cover—the Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookie. So when I was desperate for a replacement to add to the list, they finally got to take their turn in the oven.

One part gingerbread, one part chocolate chip cookie, all kinds of good. I had to hide them in the bag I take to work to keep myself from eating half the batch before I got to share them. I just kept going back for more! And everyone at worked seemed to like them too. I was passing them out before I even made it to the break room, and they were cleaned out within an hour and a half!

I will say though, they didn’t look anything like the perfect picture on the front cover of the book. From that, they look to be these flat, chewy, gorgeously gooey standard sized cookies. Mine? When I followed the directions exactly (chilling the dough, rolling it into balls, and chilling them again before baking), I got tiny little humped blobs. Tasty little blobs, but nothing like the pretty Martha cookies. So the next round in the oven, I skipped the “chill the rolled balls of dough in the fridge for 20 minutes” step and threw them straight in the oven. Most of them still came out on the small side, but they flattened out a bit more at least. But regardless of how they looked, they were delicious and I’ll definitely make them again!

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, and cocoa. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add molasses; beat until combined.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Beat in half the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Beat in baking soda mixture, then add remaining half of flour mixture, beating until just combined. Mix in chocolate. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap and pat into a 1-inch thick disk; seal with wrap. Refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or up to overnight.*
4. Preheat oven to 325F. Roll dough into 1 ½-inch balls, roll in granulated sugar, and place on prepared cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating halfway through, until surfaces start to crack, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Note: I’ve never had serious issues with skipping the chilling dough step, so you may be able to roll and bake the cookies immediately after mixing. I did end up chilling the dough for this one, and had cookies that didn’t spread so much, so next time I’m going to try skipping the chill to see if they’ll flatten out a bit more.

Looking for more cookie ideas? Keep checking back for more of the 12 Cookies of Christmas!

i'm a little nervous about the lack of eggs. is that why the boiling water is mixed w/ the baking soda??? i'm giving them a try anyway. they're just about ready to be put in the oven. thanks for sharing all these great recipes!

A friend made these cookies for a cookie swap and they were magnificent! I left the swap with 6 dozen cookies and between my husband and I we devoured all but 4of the gingerbread. They were by far my favorite.

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The Busty Baker is a newly 30-something retail slave who spends most of her downtime covered in flour in her tiny apartment kitchen, compulsively checking Twitter, and talking to her cat. Someday she'll figure out what she wants to do with her life, but until then, she'll continue to pawn her baked goods off on anyone who will take them.